ABSTRACT
Much research in international human resource management has focused on the preparation, selection and training of employees for international assignments. An often neglected area is the repatriation phase, and in particular, what happens to the career path of the employee on return. If any aspect of globalisation points out the complexities of international assignments as well as the systemic weakness and lack of planning within the international human resource function, it is repatriation. Repatriation is usually overlooked instead of being seen as the final link in an integrated, circular process that connects good selection, cross-cultural preparation, global career management and completion of the international business objectives (Marmer Solomon, 1995). According to Forster (2000) the biggest single problem encountered by UK companies since the early 1990s has been with the repatriation of employees rather than the management of expatriation. There appears to be differences between US and European multinationals with respect to their policies regarding the guarantee of a re-entry position. Research suggests that 74 per cent of continental European multinationals provided written guarantees of a return position in comparison to 38 per cent of US companies; 50 per cent of UK multinationals provided such guarantees (Conference Board, 1997).
